Child resistant tablet package

Abstract

A child resistant package for tablets is disclosed. The package includes an outer sleeve and a blister package. The blister package is designed to fit within the outer sleeve, and is capable of being slid from a closed position to an open position. The blister package includes a blister sheet and a lidding material sheet that is peeled from the blister sheet to access the tablets.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 644,262 filed Jan. 14, 2005, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Many people, as part of their daily routine, take various types of medication. Some may take several different types of pharmaceutical dosage forms in a given period. These pharmaceutical dosage forms may include pills, capsules, tablets, liquids and the like. As with many industries for which a tangible product is offered for sale, packaging is an issue. Often times, the manner in which a product is offered is a deciding factor in whether or not a purchase is made. This situation is no different in the pharmaceutical field. But other concerns may also drive the style of packaging in the pharmaceutical industry.[0003]One packaging concern is the nature of the dosage form. Some tablets, for example, are frangible,...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]A first aspect of the present invention is a medication package comprising a blister package and a substantially rigid outer sleeve for receiving the blister package. The blister package includes a unitary blister sheet defining at least one, and more preferably, a plurality of unit package regions, each of the unit package regions including a recess having an open top and a flange surrounding the recess, and a unitary sheet of lidding material peelably sealed to the flanges, the sheet of lidding material having lines of weakness extending at least partially along borders between adjacent unit package regions, the blister sheet and the sheet of lidding material defining unsealed areas along the borders for facilitating peeling of the lidding material from the blister sheet. However, it is contemplated that other embodiments may include unsealed areas that are not situated along the borders. The outer sleeve includes at least one opening, locking means for locking the blister package within the sleeve, release means for releasing the blister package from the locking means, and retaining means for preventing the blister package from being completely withdrawn from the sleeve.

[0009]Particularly preferred blisters and blister containing cards or sheets are those described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,423 to Katzner et al. (“the 423 patent), the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. The frangible dosage forms disposed in each recess of the preferred blisters engages the walls of each recess so that the walls hold the dosage form away from the bottom of the recess and adjacent the lidding material. This aspect protects the dosage form from damage by preventing shifting of the dosage form during transport. An empty space between each dosage form and the bottom of the recess in which the dosage form is disposed cushions the dosage form from impact when the package is dropped. The recesses of the package and the dosage forms disposed in the recesses may have essentially any shape. For example, the dosage forms may be disk-shaped tablets, oblong capsules or square-shaped pills. Shapes for recesses include circular, oblong, polygonal or star shapes in the plane of the blister sheet.

[0010]Furthermore, the walls and bottom of the recesses may define a shape in the form of a surface of revolution, about a vertical axis normal to the flange surrounding each of the recesses. For example, the recesses may have a curved, cup-like shape. Where the dosage forms are disc-shaped, they may each have an edge which contacts the walls of the recess in which each dosage form is disposed. The edge and walls define an annular region of contact coaxial with the vertical axis of the recess. The edge of such a disc-shaped dosage form may comprise a bevel which contacts the walls of the recess. The annular region of contact prevents shifting of the dosage form within the blister and the damage to the dosage form associated with such shifting.

[0013]Yet another aspect of the present invention is a method of removing a frangible dosage form from a package comprising providing a package having an inner blister package housed in a substantially rigid outer sleeve; engaging a release to allow the inner blister package to move from a first position in a direction through an opening in the outer sleeve; moving the inner blister package to a second position, whereby the inner blister package is partially removed from the outer sleeve; preventing the inner blister package from being completely removed from the outer sleeve; pealing away a lidding material on the inner blister package to allow access to at least one frangible dosage; and removing the frangible dosage from the inner blister package.

Problems solved by technology

As with many industries for which a tangible product is offered for sale, packaging is an issue.

Such dosage forms may be easily damaged both during transport of the package and by a user upon opening.

One type of conventional blister packages include packages having a foil layer through which a user of the package must push the tablet, thereby breaking the foil.

While this type of package is sufficient for packaging standard dosage forms, packaging of frangible dosage forms in such a package would cause damage to the frangible dosage form when attempting to push it through the foil layer.

These types of packages are also generally not child proof.

On the other hand, child-proof packages may also be quite difficult to open by the elderly, handicapped or people in great pain.

In addition, not all child proof packaging is the same.

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